Endocrinologists have known for a long time that testosterone increases the body’s ratio of lean muscle mass to fat. In both animals and humans, tongkat ali extract increases muscle mass. In a study of men, half of the subjects ingested tongkat ali extract and half did not. In an eight-week physical training program the men who consumed tongkat ali extract experienced greater gains in muscle mass and strength than those who did not. This demonstrates the powerful...

As a medicine hunter, I seek natural, plant-based remedies of high value to health and help to make them more widely distributed and better known. My research generally takes place in faraway locales, ranging from Siberia to the South Pacific. In those areas I gain an understanding of traditional medicines, thanks to generous sharing of time and expertise on the part of local experts. Indigenous natives, harvesters, cultivators, herbal healers, traders, processors, botanists, chemists and...

Periodically a newly recognized botanical ingredient comes to market, which offers significant health benefits for topical use. Oil of tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) is such an ingredient. Since the 1930s tamanu oil has been studied in hospitals and by researchers in Asia, Europe and the Pacific islands. The results of this research are impressive.

Specifically, tamanu oil possesses a unique capacity to promote the formation of new tissue, thereby accelerating wound healing and...

The Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest on earth, has been targeted by pharmaceutical companies for over a century as a rich source of new plant-derived drugs. The Amazon rain forest is even more so a treasure trove of botanicals for the dietary supplement industry. This rain forest stretches over a billion acres in Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, and the eastern Andean area of Ecuador and Peru. It is home to hundreds of thousands of plants, many of which are used as folk medicines....